Going to the ChApel
by rentheadperson525600
Summary: Ezra and Aria get married, a joyous occasion, but end up with a gift they neither expected nor wanted.


(_I originally wrote this as an epilogue to my story A Is for Anguish, because I knew this was how I wanted it to end. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending. But, after getting a bit of writer's block with A Is for Anguish, I went back to this and worked a bit more on it and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. So I thought I'd share it now. Depending on how my story goes, I may still use it for an epilogue, but anyway, here it is now. For those who haven't read A Is for Anguish, I write Ezra from the first person, so this is all from his point of view.__ Hope you enjoy._)

Going to the ChApel

I sat in one of the offices in the church, feeling like I was getting ready to go pick up my prom date. My palms were sweating, my heart was pounding, and I was nervous as hell.

My phone buzzed, and I looked at it. It was a text from Aria. When I opened the message, I found a picture of Emily, Spencer, and Hanna in their bridesmaid dresses, holding signs that said "Just wait 'til you see her!" Underneath it was a message: "I can't wait to marry you!" I chuckled. I couldn't wait either. It truly felt like everything we had been through had led us to this moment, and that this was meant to be.

At that exact moment, I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

The door opened, and my three groomsmen came through the door: Wesley, Toby, and Caleb. Wesley had my boutonniere in his hand, Toby had a bottle of Scotch, and Caleb had four glasses.

"Today's the day," Wesley said, taking out the boutonniere to pin it on me. "You ready?"

"I think so," I told him. "I'm still trying to convince myself that this isn't all a dream."

Toby screwed open the bottle of gin and grabbed one of the glasses from Caleb.

"It's not a dream. If it was, you wouldn't be able to taste this." He handed me a glass of gin and then poured the rest of the glasses for himself and the other two.

"A little something to take the edge off," Caleb said.

"Thanks, guys," I said as I took a much-needed sip. "I needed this. Wes, you have the ring?"

"Damn, I knew I forgot something," he teased. "Of course I have the ring. Quit worrying, bro. We've got you covered."

"Oh, speaking of jewelry," Toby said, pulling a small box out of his coat pocket, "this is for you, from Aria."

"Thanks," I said as I opened the box. It was a pair of white gold cuff links, engraved with our initials. They were beautiful. I immediately took the cuff links I was wearing off, and put the ones she had given me on. They were perfect, just like her.

I heard the pianist start playing music in the sanctuary, and I knew it was almost time. I took a deep breath and stood up.

"I guess it's time," I told them. "I just want to thank you guys for everything. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. And I mean that literally. I probably still wouldn't be alive if it weren't for each of you. And so it's only fitting that it's the three of you who are here with me now. Thank you. Thank you so much." A lump started to form in my throat.

"Okay, enough," Wesley said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Let's go get married!"

I started to head out the door when Caleb pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"You might want a copy of your vows," he said, smiling.

Good thing someone was thinking straight. That was almost a disaster.

"Yeah, that would probably be helpful," I agreed with a chuckle. "Good thing at least one of us had his wits about him this morning."

"What are groomsmen for?" Caleb said as he opened the door.

I looked down to make sure I hadn't forgotten to do anything else, like button my coat or zip my fly, and then left the church office. It was time. Finally.

Ten minutes later, the famous wedding march began and my heart seemed to jump into my throat. I was so excited and nervous and happy and reluctant all at the same time.

But all of my nerves disappeared, leaving only warmth and joy, as soon as I saw Aria come through the doors of the sanctuary. Her dress was stunning, vintage and modern at the same time, and she had opted to wear flowers in her hair instead of the traditional veil. And, as she got closer, I saw that she was wearing my wedding gift to her: a white gold necklace with a letter A studded with diamonds (not only because it was her initial, but also to remind her of everything we'd been through, and that she had survived it all). She took my breath away.

The look Byron Montgomery gave me as he placed Aria's hand in mine told me that he would rather be giving his daughter away to anyone else but me, but that he wasn't going to stop her from going through with this.

I took Aria's hand eagerly and brought it to my lips for a kiss as I pulled her towards me.

"You are so beautiful," I whispered as she came to stand next to me.

She smiled, and it lit up her whole face. "I love you," she whispered back.

I smiled just a bit wider. I would never tire of hearing her say those three little words. For just a moment, there was no one else in the world there but us, and nothing else mattered but the fact that I would get to spend the rest of my life with the goddess standing next to me.

"Please be seated." Pastor Ted's voice brought me back to reality. "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

"Her mother and I," Byron choked out, and then turned to go sit next to Ella. I had to stifle a chuckle. He was hating every minute of this.

"Ezra and Aria," Pastor Ted continued, "today you are surrounded by your friends and family, all of whom have gathered here to witness your marriage and to share in the joy of this special occasion. Today, as you join yourselves in marriage, there is a vast and unknown future stretching out before you. The possibilities and potentials of your married life are great and now falls upon your shoulders the task of choosing your values and making real your dreams. Through your commitment to each other, may you grow and nurture a love that makes both of you better people, a love that continues to give you great joy, and also a passion for living that provides you with energy and patience to face the responsibilities of life. And, now, I believe, you have selected a few passages to be read."

The reading at our wedding was different than most readings. Each of our attendants had been given a passage to read. We had wanted everyone to be included, because everyone standing up there with us had been with us through the good times and the bad and we would quite literally not be standing there getting married if it weren't for them. These readings were not taken from the Bible. Given our mutual love of literature, we had decided to take romantic passages from books and authors instead. What perhaps was the most unique part of this reading was that neither of us knew what the other's attendants were going to read. This was like part of our vows to us, since literature was a language that we spoke, so we had agreed to keep our selections secret from each other until now.

Emily, Aria's maid of honor, began with a passage from _Les Miserables_. "Victor Hugo wrote, 'Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves and even loved in spite of ourselves.'"

Wesley, my best man, was next. "F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this about his wife, Zelda. 'I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self-respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything.'"

Spencer continued with a passage from _Wuthering Heights._ "Emily Brontё wrote, 'If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.'"

Toby was next, with a quote from _Hamlet. _"William Shakespeare wrote, 'Doubt thou the stars are fire. Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar. But never doubt I love.'"

Hanna was the last of Aria's bridesmaids to read. "E.E. Cummings wrote, 'Love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear, the strength so strong mere force is feebleness, the truth more first than sun, more last than star.'"

Finally, Caleb read a quote from _Doctor Zhivago_. "Boris Pasternak wrote, 'You and I, it's as though we have been taught to kiss in heaven and sent down to earth together, to see if we know what we were taught.'"

It was a good thing that the traditional "I do's" came next, because Aria and I both had tears in our eyes after the readings and needed a moment to compose ourselves before reading the vows we had written for each other.

"Well, that was certainly different, but beautiful and, I could tell, heartfelt," Pastor Ted said as he came back to the podium. He turned to face Aria. "Do you, Aria Mongomery, take Ezra Fitzgerald to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?" he recited.

Even after everything, part of me still dreaded that she would say no and run screaming back down the aisle, or that I would wake up right at this moment to discover that this was all a dream. But it wasn't a dream, and Aria was still standing there, smiling at me through her tears.

"I do," she said, staring straight into my eyes.

Then Pastor Ted turned to me. "And do you, Ezra Fitzgerald, take Aria Montgomery to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do," I vowed.

"You have for each other a golden ring," the pastor continued. "This most precious of metals symbolizes that love is the most precious element in your life together. The ring has no beginning and no ending, which symbolizes that the love between you will never cease. You place these rings upon each other's fingers as a visible sign of the vows which, this day, make you husband and wife."

In addition to the "I do's," Aria and I had also written our own vows to say during the ring exchange. Though I was a writer, after having those beautiful quotes from brilliant minds read just moments ago, somehow the vows I had written seemed childish and silly, not fit to be spoken aloud. But it was important for her to know what I had written. I took a deep breath, took my vows out of my jacket pocket, and took the ring from Wesley.

"Aria," I began, "from the moment I met you, the connection we had was instant and strong. No matter how wrong it looked to outsiders looking in on us, it always felt right when we were together. And so, early on, we made a decision together to not care what the world said about us. We knew how we felt, and we knew what we had was real. And then so many things got in our way. Lies, deceit, secrets, danger, and, well, life. But now, none of that matters anymore. What we have is real, and most importantly, it's true. As I told you once before, truth is what matters most, especially in a town full of liars. And truth is the essential building block of any relationship. So, with that in mind, I promise you this. I promise you a love that is unceasing, a love that is passionate, and, most importantly, a love that is true." I slid the ring on her finger as I recited the traditional ring statement, modified slightly to fit the vows I had just read. "Aria, I give you this ring as a symbol of that love. As it encircles your finger, may it remind you always of my unceasing, passionate, and true love."

Aria wiped some tears from her eyes and sniffled as she turned to take my wedding ring and a copy of her vows from Emily.

"Wow, how am I supposed to follow that?" she said, providing some much-needed comic relief after all the serious and heartfelt vows and passages. Everyone chuckled.

"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath, chuckling just a bit herself. "Ezra, you and I have had so many things get in our way over the years. But somehow, even when it seemed impossible, we always found our way back to each other. And that was always because you fought for me. You fought your feelings when you thought I would be better off without you. When you saw that wasn't working, you fought to get me back, time and again. You fought to keep me safe from the people who were tormenting me, and you fought to bring those tormentors to justice, even when I made it clear that I didn't want your help and even when it meant putting your own life at risk. You fought to come back to me when you got shot trying to save my life. And I took it all for granted. So now it's my turn to fight. It's my turn to fight to become worthy of the amazing, epic love you've given me. The love that is so strong it was willing to do anything and everything to protect me. The love that is so brave it jumped in front of me to take a bullet. And the love that is so patient it waited years for me to realize just how lucky I am to have you in my life. So now I promise you this. I promise you a love that is fierce and brave, a love that is all-consuming and passionate, and a love that is strong and enduring." She slipped the ring on my finger. "Ezra, I give you this ring as a symbol of that love. As it encircles your finger, may it remind you always of my fierce, all-consuming, and enduring love."

And with that, Pastor Ted, who was wiping his eyes along with the rest of the congregation, had only one thing left to say.

"And now, by the power vested in me by the state of Pennsylvania, I pronounce you husband and wife." He turned to look at me. "You may kiss your bride."

As our lips met, everything else once again faded away, and there was no one else in the world but the two of us. The passion in this one kiss could have set the room on fire and neither of us would have noticed. But suddenly, I remembered that we had an audience. So, unwillingly, I broke the kiss.

"I love you so much," I whispered, so only she could hear.

"I love you, too," she whispered back.

I kissed her one more time, briefly, and then let go of her face so I could take her hand as we turned to face the crowd of family and friends who had come to support us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Ezra and Aria Fitzgerald," Pastor Ted announced.

And with that, we walked back down the aisle, arm in arm, as husband and wife.

After a very low-key dinner, Wesley walked up to the microphone on the bandstand and tapped it.

"This thing on?" he asked.

Everyone chuckled a bit, though it wasn't that funny.

"Okay," he continued. "So, I'm pretty sure that I was the first person Ezra told the truth to about Aria. I mean the whole truth. And when I first heard about her, I have to admit I thought he was completely mental for being with her. I mean, really, what sane man starts dating one of his students, especially one of his high school students? And then gives up that teaching job, and another job as a college professor, so he can be with her? I just didn't get it. In our family, we were raised to be successful, not to give up success. And then I met Aria and I saw them together, and just like that, I got it. Everyone, I think, has someone come into their life at some point who makes them question everything they thought they knew. About life, about love, and about how things are supposed to be. For Ezra, that person was Aria. When he met her, he knew that his life would never be the same, and he was okay with that. He opened himself up to the possibility that there was something better out there than what he had originally planned for himself. And for me, that person was the person that Aria made Ezra. This new Ezra showed me that there is more to life than money and success. You can have all the money and all the success in the world and still be completely miserable. But if you have someone in your life who you truly love and care about with all your heart, someone you would be willing to die for, then you can be living in a little shoebox apartment and re-using coffee filters and still be the happiest man on the planet. So, I'd like to propose a toast to my new sister, Aria, and to my big brother, Ezra. Thank you both for showing me what life is really all about, and for showing me that it's okay to question what I thought I knew and open myself up to new possibilities. I love you guys."

As everyone raised their glasses and Wes stepped down from the bandstand, Emily got up and went to the microphone.

"I think I speak for Aria and the rest of our friends when I say that our junior year in high school was the year everything changed," she began. "It started even before school started for some of us. It was the first time any of us got messages from a masked figure who would only identify themselves as 'A.' This person made our lives a living hell for years, but this person also made something else happen that they probably didn't expect. First, they brought four friends who had become estranged back together. But probably more importantly, A made us all stronger and braver than we had ever been. We had to be brave and step up to the challenges that A was handing us because we had no other choice, but that bravery also stemmed out into other areas of our lives as well. For me, my newfound bravery made me realize that it was okay to be who and what I truly was. I was finally able to admit to myself and to everyone else that I was gay, and open myself up to my first real love. And it had an effect on Aria, too. The Aria that I knew before A would never have had the courage to admit that she was in love with her English teacher, let alone act on those feelings. But she did. She took a risk and she followed her heart. To the rest of the world, it didn't look right. I know Hanna, Spencer, and I, her three best friends, thought she was insane. But, when the odds were stacked against Aria and Ezra, when outside forces came closing in and tried their best to tear them apart, they stayed strong. They weathered the storm that lasted for years. And, at the end of it, they came out the other side scarred, but stronger for all they'd been through. So, I would like to propose a toast to my friends Ezra and Aria, who are living proof that sometimes, you just have to take a risk and be brave to find love."

Again, glasses were raised, and this time, I was the one who stood up to go to the bandstand.

I cleared my throat. "Um, normally, I'm a writer, not a public speaker. I'm much more comfortable saying what I feel on paper rather than out loud. And I know Aria is the same way. When we first met, the first thing we talked about was our love of writing and literature. It's a language all its own. In fact, those passages that you heard earlier today, they were, in a way, part of our vows. We each picked passages for our attendants to read during the ceremony, and we kept them secret from each other. Neither of us knew what the other's attendants were going to read. And honestly, picking those passages for my groomsmen to read was easier for me than writing my vows and saying them. Each of those passages was so personal for me and told Aria, in better words than I ever could, how I felt about her. But the thing is, I wasn't the one reading them. And it didn't feel right for me to let this night go by without reading a passage myself.

"And so, with that, I would like to propose a toast to my beautiful bride, not with my own words, but with the words of Charlotte Brontё. This is a passage from _Jane Eyre_. 'I have for the first time found what I can truly love and I have found you. You are my sympathy and my better self, my good angel. I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you, and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.'"

I raised my glass and looked straight at my new wife. "Aria, I love you and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Everyone else followed suit, and took a drink to toast Aria and our union. And with that, I went to sit back down next to the love of my life.

The rest of the reception passed as one might expect. There was plenty of dancing, including our first dance, of course to the song "Happiness." B-26. There was the traditional cake cutting and us making a complete mess feeding each other. There was the bouquet toss and the garter toss. And, of course there were plenty of gifts to be opened.

The last gift was just a plain, unmarked, letter-sized envelope. Aria was the one who opened it, and smiled when she saw the $500 cash inside. But then her smile changed to a look of pure horror when she looked at the note that came with it. She stood there frozen and dropped the letter to the ground. I knew that look, and I knew of only one thing that could cause it. I took her hand to remind her that I was still there with her, and, not letting her go for a second, bent down to pick up the letter. It was a single sentence, written on an old-fashioned typewriter. But that one sentence was enough to send a chill as cold as ice through my veins.

_Have a killer honeymoon.  
>-A<em>


End file.
